The brothers of infamous oil trader George Farrugia are set to be arraigned in court by the end of this month over their possible involvement in the oil procurement scandal, this newspaper has learnt. 

Moreover, George Farrugia has also been summoned to give testimony in the case against his brothers, who were once his business partners.

Salvu, Antonio, Gaetano and Raymond Farrugia are to face charges at the end this month for having had knowledge that their brother George had been bribing state officials to secure oil contracts from Enemalta for Powerplan Ltd, the family business he once managed.

The move comes over two years since George Farrugia's brothers had been first arrested and questioned by the police over their possible involvement in the scandal.

In a new twist this week on Thursday, George Farrugia was interrogated for nine hours at Police Headquarters.

Mr Farrugia has given evidence, under a deal struck with the last government in return for immunity from prosecution, which could incriminate his brothers and other people who occupied senior positions at Enemalta.

That deal, however, could be revoked if the new investigation launched by the Economic Crimes Unit yields evidence that Mr Farrugia had covered up or withheld vital information.

This week's sudden bid for new evidence indicates a change of heart by the police, which had been seemingly reluctant to press charges against the Farrugia brothers until Manuel Mallia had been removed from his post as home affairs minister, and Michael Cassar, who has said he had wanted to press charges against the brothers when he was Assistant Commissioner, was appointed Police Commissioner.

Mr Farrugia has now been placed on 'police bail' and has been barred from travelling abroad.

It is not clear why the police have suddenly changed tack on Mr Farrugia, their erstwhile key witness in a series of court cases against public officials and others following the oil procurement scandal which broke on the eve of the 2013 general election.

Most indicative perhaps are the new conditions of police bail placed on Mr Farrugia, which indicate that the police now have reason to believe that further investigation is required and that such investigations could lead to legal procedures against Mr Farrugia.

These new 'police bail' conditions on the former oil trader also indicate that the police are considering a move to revoke the immunity given to Mr Farrugia and eventually take him to court.

Legal experts who spoke to this newsroom have confirmed that should this be the case, all testimony given by Mr Farrugia while under immunity, and which could incriminate himself and the others he identified in the oil procurement scandal, will not be admissible in court.

Strange coincidence - former PM

In comments to this newspaper two weeks ago, former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi challenged the Public Accounts Committee to look into the "strange coincidence" of how George Farrugia's brothers - who were clients of former Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia before he was elected to Parliament - are only being arraigned now that the former minister is well and truly out of the picture.

In comments to this newspaper, Dr Gonzi had stopped short of accusing Manuel Mallia of blocking the police from taking action against his former clients, but he said the facts speak for themselves and that they should be investigated.

He suggested that the PAC should also look into why no action was taken against George Farrugia's brothers during Manuel Mallia's tenure, despite the intentions of the investigating officers.

"This committee should investigate everything, including all the strange happenings," Dr Gonzi said.

He then went on to outline the sequence of events quite clearly:

"[Then] Assistant Police Commissioner Michael Cassar told this same committee [the PAC] a few weeks ago that he had intended to arraign the Farrugia brothers. He had taken that decision and had informed his superiors, but Michael Cassar was taken off the investigation on 12 April 2013, the same day that John Rizzo was forced to resign as Police Commissioner. He was replaced by Peter Paul Zammit.

"On 10 July, another investigating officer, Angelo Gafa, was also transferred out of the secret service, away from the case. Peter Paul Zammit was replaced by Ray Zammit on 3 July 2014.

"On 9 December, Manuel Mallia was dismissed and three days later Michael Cassar was appointed Police Commissioner. He gave an interview on the same day and announced that charges would be levelled against the Farrugia brothers.

"I do not like these coincidences at all and I think that this committee should investigate them."

When asked by this newspaper whether he was insinuating that Manuel Mallia had stopped the police from taking action against his former clients, Dr Gonzi insisted that he was only stating the facts.

He added, "No action was taken until Manuel Mallia was removed. These coincidences speak for themselves and should be investigated. I am only stating the facts. Someone has to give a clear explanation if we really want to take things seriously in this country."